Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown
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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown (Latin: Dioecesis Alanpolitana) is a Roman Catholic diocese comprising the Pennsylvanian counties of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill, in the United States.
Its cathedral is the Cathedral Church of Saint Catharine of Siena, located in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
The diocese has a Catholic population of 273,599 as of 2006, approximately 23.5% of the total population; it maintains 151 parishes, 52 Catholic elementary schools, 9 Catholic high schools and 2 Catholic colleges, as well as 307 priests.
The diocese was founded on January 28, 1961 by Pope John XXIII from territory which until then was part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia; the first bishop, Joseph Mark McShea, was installed on April 11 of that year. The past bishops of the diocese are:
- Joseph Mark McShea (1961–1983)
- Thomas Jerome Welsh (1983–1997)
- Edward Peter Cullen (1997—)
